New research has provided fresh insights into Manx emigrants who settled in the United States, revealing the strong presence of Manx communities in Ohio and beyond.

The findings come as part of a new agreement between Manx National Heritage (MNH) and Ancestry.com, which now allows visitors to the Manx Museum Library and Archives in Douglas to access Ancestry Institution for free.

The partnership provides access to over 60 billion records from 88 countries, enabling researchers to explore census data, military records, migration documents, and historical directories to trace family connections.

The new access to Ancestry has already helped MNH uncover stories of Manx emigrants who established themselves in the US.

Sarah Christian, MNH Library and Archives Assistant, shared an example of John Henry Quine, an American drugstore owner with Manx roots. While US census records initially listed his birthplace as England, further research using Ancestry confirmed that he was in fact from Douglas, having lived at 5 Derby Road in 1881 before emigrating to the US.

Ms Christian said: ‘In the MNH Photographic Archive and digitised on imuseum.im are early 20th-century photographs of an American drugstore belonging to John Henry Quine. For us to have these photographs means he must be linked to the Isle of Man, but searching Ancestry, we discovered census enumerators in the US declare his birth country as England.

‘Only one record from the American 1910 census has “Isle of Man”, but it’s crossed out. This illustrates how even if your family story connects you to the Isle of Man, the documents don’t always make it easy. Further research using Ancestry reveals that indeed John Quine’s family came from Douglas, with the 1881 census recording that he lived at 5 Derby Road before emigrating to America.’

Another significant discovery involved William Corlett of Ohio, USA, whose portrait is part of MNH’s digital archive. A search for his name on Ancestry led researchers to the 1860 US census, which showed a cluster of Manx families living and working as farmers in Newburgh, Cuyahoga, Ohio.

Ms Christian added: ‘Next, we explored a photograph of a portrait painting of William Corlett of Ohio, USA, on the Manx National Heritage imuseum.im website. A search for William Corlett on Ancestry led us not only to William appearing on the North American 1860 census but on the next page a whole community of Manx farmers living and working in Newburgh, Cuyahoga, Ohio. As a common name, there is another William Corlett nearby at Warrensville.’

Ancestry Institution provides access to historical records from the Isle of Man, the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and across Europe, enabling researchers to trace their own roots or follow the migration paths of ancestors.

As part of the new agreement, Ancestry will add Isle of Man Parish Registers to its platform in 2026.

The Manx National Heritage Library and Archives at the Manx Museum in Douglas is open Wednesday to Saturday, 10am to 4:30pm.